Starting treatment for menopause-you are not alone

I get a lot of email that is very similar.

"Ok, I've got hypogonadism, now what do I do?"

"My doctor says that menopause is normal but I can't have sex anymore! How is that normal?"

"Why do I need testosterone, I don't want to look like a man."

"I don't want to change what nature meant to be, but I am miserable and can't sleep"

"My wife is afraid of getting breast cancer so she would rather be miserable than take something"

"My wife cries most days and says she can't cope, how can this be normal?"

The theme is the same, the desire to be whole without causing harm. Each woman or man that writes to me feels alone and that no one is trying to help them. Most people don't realize that hypogonadism, like any illness, affects women and men very similarly. While women are often told that menopause is different for every woman, they are not told that how it affects their bodies is very similar. Whether you feel menopause or not, your body still feels the ill effects. Women often feel alone in their struggle to find effective treatment because it is a difficult topic to share with friends and family. Further, having your doctor dismiss what you are saying and tell you there's nothing wrong can be devastating.

I wish that hypogonadism was something you could treat on your own. I wish that herbs, meditation, yoga, exercise and diet could take away the ill health of hypogonadism. I wish that treatment was common place and effective. Until that day comes women are going to have to know as much about ovarian replacement as their doctors. It's not fair but it is the way it is.

We are told that each woman needs a different regimen, which can make seeking treatment seem very complicated. It isn't. Think of it this way. Getting reading glasses is not complicated. You are tested for astigmatism, depth perception, distance vision and close vision. Is it complicated? No, because you are measuring each one of these things separately. You get your prescription based on these measurements, you see better and you are happy. Getting treatment for hypogonadism is just as straightforward. You are going to find the right prescription and you are going to feel better, be healthier, and be happier.

I am going to walk you through this. It may seem complicated because unlike a visit to the eye doctor, who learned in school how to take these measurements and put them all together into a prescription, your doctor hasn't learned about ovarian replacement or how to put it together into a prescription.

We'll take this one step at a time. We'll start with testosterone because it is something that women of all ages can benefit from. In my next blog you'll learn that testosterone not only helps to maintain sexual function but can help prevent breast cancer.